Analysis

Aerospace Composite Malaysia uses three main methods in manufacturing and assembling
their products. These processes have been used and improved to keep up with the emerging
competitive marking of the aerospace industry. This section will analyse the three methods
used which are prepreg hand lay, autoclave curing, and abrasive water jet cutting and
compare each with one other method that is available in the industry.

1. ACM Methods

1.1 Why Prepreg Hand Lay-up

The first method used in ACM is prepreg hand layup process. There are several reasons why
hand layup is used which will be discussed in this section. An important advantage is how
prepreg hand layup has low start-up cost. It does not require much expensive equipment to
carry out and so promotes the company to channel the funds on getting high quality raw
materials. Next, prepreg hand layup can produce high quality complex features. Given that
each part is given attention by a human laminator in real time, every nook and cranny of a
complex mold will be worked on. Lastly, prepreg hand layup is highly adaptable to new parts
and design changes. Since it is all done by human laminators instead of machines, there is no
need to new or reprogramming when changes occur in a product or a new product design
comes in. [1]

However, there is a cost also of using hand layup. Firstly, it causes an increase in both
materials and labour cost. Since hand layup is more labour intensive, higher costs are needed
to match the time, effort and skilled used to make composite parts. Next, the production rate
will be low since human involvement brings about fatigue and error. Hence, each composite
panel must be done with care. Lastly, there is also potential for discrepancies between parts
and quality cause by human variation. This is inevitable as many humans are required so do
same parts to match the demand of customers. Hence a variation in quality can be seen. [1]

1.2 Why Autoclave

Autoclaves are used by ACM to further maintain product quality. As mentioned before the
autoclaves help to release all the trapped air to escape viz increase in resin viscosity. Also, the
resin will wet the fibres more results in superior bonding. To meet the high demands of
composite materials, autoclaves speed up the curing process. This helps ACM to maintain
smooth production runs as well. Autoclaves are used by many advance fabricators because it
is a relatively low-cost investment. This makes a no brainer decision as lowering cost while
improving quality is the way to go. It also makes it easy for quality control. This is because
the process is simple and straightforward which makes troubleshooting easy too. [2]

There are also drawbacks which ACM needs to overcome. While the heat is to help with
curing process, too high heat can make the products duller. It is important to find the sweet
spot for the heat curing. Next, autoclaves take up bigger spaces due to size of equipment.
ACM has overcome this issue by setting up a large production facility. [3]

1.3 Why Abrasive Water Jet Cutting

Finally, is the usage of abrasive water jet cutting. This is the final major process done by
ACM which is to cut the cured composites into customer requests. Water jet cutting is mainly
used because it does not overheat the products. Once the composite has been cured, adding
heat will affect the quality especially at the edges. Water jet cutting cools as it cuts. Apart
from this, ACM is able to practice sustainable manufacturing as water jet cutting is green
technology. The particles and water are filtered from composite shavings and reused. The
closed loops system and small precise nozzle means less water is used. [4]

There are some issues to overcome by ACM however when using water jet cutting. Firstly, it
increases cutting time. It takes time to set up the whole process and for the cutting to be
accurate. Less cutting time means lower output. Next is greater the thickness reduces
accuracy. ACM works out way to ensure the thickness is optimized according to
specifications while not compromising accuracy. Another disadvantage is that a limited
number of materials can be cut economically. [4]

2. Comparison with Other Methods

When it comes to composite manufacturing done by ACM, there are other methods
composites can be manufactured and assembled. These methods have their own advantages
and disadvantages in various aspects. These aspects are cost, ease of carrying out the method,
impact to environment and others if stated.

2.1 Automated Prepreg

Automated Prepreg method can be seen as a form of additive manufacturing since the parts
are built by adding material instead of removing material when machining as seen in Figure
1. The machine head handles the prepreg tape, which is typically 75, 150, or 300 mm wide
and supplied on a cardboard core similar to the prepreg used for manual layup. However, the
prepreg can be modified for automated layup by changing the backing paper or degree of
impregnation [5]

The advantage of using automated prepreg is increase in productivity. Since a machine is

doing all the work, it will non-stop produce parts while humans need to rest. Apart from this,
it relieves human operators from hazardous situations like inhaling poisonous fumes from the
resin []. Another advantage is Compared to vacuum bagging, prepreg can achieve 35% resin
which is nearer to the sweet spot of 50% resin and 50% fabric Often, other methods result in
excess resin which causes more brittleness. When human lamination is used, often dry spots
or resin rich areas show up. Next, as a state-of-the-art facility like ACM must maintain
upmost cleanliness to avoid accidents and contamination of products. Automated Prepreg can
prevent this as there no long need for resin cups and messy rollers [6].

There are also some drawbacks to using automated prepreg. Firstly, the cost of using the
machine is much higher as well as maintenance is required. Next, if there are changes in
design, the machine needs to be reprogrammed which will affect the production rate. Lastly,
it will require large initial capital expenditure that some companies maybe not be able to
afford. [7]

Figure 1: Automated Prepreg machine

2.2 Microwave Curing

Microwave curing is the use of microwaves to cure a composite part that is put in a
microwave oven specially designed to house composite parts as in figure 2. Microwaves are
the electromagnetic waves with the frequencies ranging from 300MHz to 300 GHz.
Microwave can be used to heat the material. In the microwave field, the dipoles of the
material interact with the electromagnetic field. And the hysteresis effect of the dipoles
causes steering polarization in the rapidly alternating electromagnetic field, thus generating
the microwave power dissipation within the material and the heating of the material [8].

One of the advantages is rapid and efficient heating. Only the part is heated and thus the need
to heat unnecessary thermal mass (i.e. air and mould) is reduced. Therefore, the time and
energy required to cure a part is generally significantly lower with MWs than with
conventional methods. Next is reduction in non-conforming part. It is common practice for
producers of composite parts to cure multiple parts in a single run in order to optimise the use
of the oven or autoclave. In the aerospace industry for example, there are standards which
require thermocouples to control the curing cycle. All parts needs to be cured under certain
time and temperature. When a part exceeds the maximum time, then the part has to be
recorded and traced by a “non-conformity” procedure, which creates a lot of additional
bureaucracy and associated financial costs. These “out-of-standard” parts are as a result of the
uneven heating within the oven or autoclave due to the uncontrolled flow of hot air, and the
differences in the geometry and thermal masses of the parts and the moulds. MW curing, if
designed appropriately, could reduce the number of non-conforming parts by heating only the
material irrespective of the mould thus producing a lower scatter in the temperature
distribution of the different parts.[9]

As for disadvantages, firstly, large parts used to cured will have hot spots. This means uneven
curing will occur. When this happens, the performance of the composite part becomes
unpredictable and ununiform which is bad for quality control. Another disadvantage is the
equipment will affect the setup and the operational procedure, which in turn will affect the
material’s performance. Therefore, additional care must be taken when curing composite
parts in a microwave oven. [9]
 Figure 2: Microwave Oven curing a composite part in vacuum

2.3 Rotary Cutting Method

Rotary cutting involves the use of a circular saw and a stationary jig to hold the part being cut
in place. A human operator will setup the part to be cut by securing the part in a holder. Then
the part is cut depending on the motion of the circular saw as seen in Figure 3.

The advantages of using rotary cutting method is low skilled labour. The company does not
need to spend on training workers to man the machine. Next is also low-cost maintenance due
to simple machinery as opposed to a complex machine seen in abrasive water jet cutting
method. [10]

The disadvantages are often saw damage occurs which leads to increase in cost to replace the
saw. Next is only simple parts can be cut which means it is geometrically handicapped. If
complex parts need to be cut, it will take a long time since the cutting head needs to be
reoriented. Lastly, delamination is typical when using rotary cutter. This is because heat is
generated when cutting which causes damage to the laminate. It is also not environmentally
sustainable as composite shavings are not recycled. [10]
 Figure 3: Rotary cutter with table

3.Table of Comparison

Table 1: Comparison of Prepreg hand layup and Automated Prepreg layup

Method
Criteria Prepreg Hand Layup Automated Prepreg Layup
Cost Low cost initial capital High cost initial capital
Fabrication Labour Intensive Requires complex programming
Productivity Low High
Impact to environment More waste from discarded prepreg rolls Less waste due to accurate programming
settings
Quality Control Higher quality if skilled worker is used but Good Quality due to consistence machine
can be inconsistent due to human variation use but lower quality for complex
geometry
Table 2: Comparison of Autoclave and Microwave
Method
Criteria Autoclave Microwave
Cost Lower cost initial capital because available High cost initial capital because need to
in market order custom
Curing Uses airflow, gas pressure and high energy Uses Microwaves but requires vacuum
electrons. Very versatile bagging to remove trapped air
Productivity High and able to handle large parts High but large parts have uneven heating
Impact to environment Release fumes from the curing Release fumes from the curing
Quality Control High quality laminates if perfect High Quality is correct equipment and
temperature is used but easier to achieve procedures are used but is more
complicated

Table 3: Comparison of Rotary Cutter and Abrasive Water Jet Cutting

Method
Criteria Abrasive Water Jet Cutting Rotary Cutter
Cost High cost due to use of complex machinery Low cost due to simple tooling
Trimming Performance Highly Precise and able to cut complex Less accurate, sometimes require
 parts in shorter time retrimming. Long time if trimming
complex parts
Productivity High Low
Impact to environment Low impact due to recycling of fluid and High impact is composite dust is released
abrasive used into the air
Quality Control High quality trimming since edges are Low Quality as cutting can cause heat
cooled while bring cut damage to laminates
References

[1] M. Elkington, D. Bloom, C. Ward, A. Chatzimichali &K. Potter (2015) Hand layup:
understanding the manual process. United Kingdom

[2] The Advantage of Autoclaves [Online] http://composite-eng.com/2015/10/autoclave-

advantages-composites/ [Accessed on 4 May 2020]

[3] S. Savale(2016). Autoclave Validation

[Online]https://www.slideshare.net/sagarsavale1/autoclave-validatin-62504749 [Accessed on
4 May 2020]

[4] P. P. Badgujar, M.G.Rathi. (2014) Abrasive Waterjet Machining-A State of Art. India

[5] A. Björnsson. Automated layup and forming of prepreg laminates (2017) Division of
Manufacturing Engineering; Sweden.

[6] What Are Prepregs? [Online] Available: https://www.fibreglast.com/product/about-

prepregs/Learning_Center [Accessed on 22 April 2020]

[7] J. A. Lukaszewicz, C. Ward, K. D. Potter. (2012) The engineering aspects of automated

prepreg layup: History, present and future. Elsevier; Amsterdam

[8] Xiang Hang, Yingguang Li, Xiaozhong Hao, Nanya Li, Youyi Wen. (2015) Effects of
temperature profiles of microwave curing processes on mechanical properties of carbon
fibre–reinforced composites. Sage Publications; California,USA

[9] Museok Kwak. (2016) Microwave Curing of Carbon-Epoxy Composites: Process

Development and Material Evaluation. Imprerial College of London[10] M. Hashish. (2013)
TRIMMING OF CFRP AIRCRAFT COMPONENTS. Flow International Corporation; Kent,
USA.

[11] Cutting and Trimming for Composites [Online] https://www.solvay.com/en/chemical-

categories/our-composite-materials-solutions/cutting-and-trimming-composites [Accessed on
4 May 2020]